Martha 1
It’s an unfortunate fact that the busiest people are often the least effective for God, despite myths to the contrary. It is sad that we are often so busy for God that we have nothing of God to offer to those who are starved of him. The twelve Apostles were busy and effective people, but not because they were busy, active and involved. They were fruitful because they were intimate with Jesus. They were fruitful because their self sufficiency had been stripped away, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They had been empowered from on high.
A Christian workaholic is still a workaholic and suffers all the ills of anyone with an addiction. Our greatest problem today is that we are a Martha church. We need to be a Mary church. Martha was not an unbeliever. She belonged to the group that supported Jesus in his ministry. ‘As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him (Luke 10:38). Martha was in company with Jesus. She was part of his support group and she was busy doing good. She was in the very presence of his ministry, but she was not actually communing with him or drawing life from him. She was absorbed in her own efforts for God. Martha was absorbed in religious activity but she was not involved in spiritual activity. Martha churches are big on activity and methodology but small on peace and fruitfulness.
‘She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said’ (Luke 10:39). Mary was hungry for God and for the life that flowed from his presence and his words. Mary had a heart for God. As Mary listened to Jesus her spirit was replenished. She was being fortified to live and empowered to act. On the other hand, ‘.. Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! (Luke 10:40).
We are often distracted by the idea that alone and unassisted we have to do God’s work for him. We’ve given up salvation by works in private but we cling to it vigorously in public. I’m saved by grace, we say but the church and it’s work is saved by me! Mary had her priorities right. By spending time with Jesus and becoming filled with his life she became a channel of his life and instrument of his power. Mary churches achieve far more than Martha churches ever do. Mary people and Mary churches are fruitful and effective. The results of their efforts linger long after they have gone. Despite their proximity to Jesus and their expenditure of effort, Martha people and Martha churches do little to advance God’s kingdom and frequently retard its growth. This is because they work in the flesh which causes them to adopt a critical attitude to others. 'Lord, tell Mary..' ‘Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’ (Luke 10:41,42).
Martha was annoyed with Mary but Jesus did not tell Mary to help her. To do so would perpetuate the barrenness that is the bane of Christian workaholism. He said, ‘Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.’ Despite appearances Mary had chosen what was better. Mary was seen as insensitive to pressing need and careless of practicalities by her pragmatic and ever active sister, Martha. So it is with the Martha's of today. They see prayer as ‘just words’ and are thrown back on their own resources. But God is not calling anyone to be Martha’s. He is calling all of us to intimacy with him. He wants us to choose that which is better. ‘Better’ means the practice of individual and corporate prayer on a regular basis. Congregations that seek the Lord in praise or stillness by waiting on him, will be filled with the bread of life. Spiritually contented, filled and equipped by the Spirit of the Lord, they will be places of tranquillity in troubled world. They will also go out in power to win ground for God.
Martha was absorbed in her work. Mary was looking into Jesus face. God calls us to seek his face, to be intimate with him and to cease doing his work with our backs to him. He says, ‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land’ (2Chr. 7:14).
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MARTHA 2
Intimacy is Better than working with our backs to Jesus..
Modern Sadducees claim to be realists. In reality their problem is timidity. So they use the notion of pluralism as an excuse to avoid change and retain control. Unfortunately their influence in our churches leads to sterility and disintegration. Where they are present vision is never turned into reality because they quench the Spirit in the name of ‘being a realist.’ Being 'real' and practical is the refrain of Martha. It’s an unfortunate fact that the busiest people are often the least effective for God, despite myths to the contrary. It is sad that we are often so busy for God that we have nothing of God to offer to those who are starved of him. The twelve Apostles were busy and effective people, but not because they were busy, active and involved. They were fruitful because they were intimate with Jesus. They were fruitful because their self sufficiency had been stripped away, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They had been empowered from on high.
A Christian workaholic is still a workaholic and suffers all the ills of anyone with an addiction. Our greatest problem today is that we are a Martha church. We need to be a Mary church. Martha was not an unbeliever. She belonged to the group that supported Jesus in his ministry. ‘As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him (Luke 10:38). Martha was in company with Jesus. She was part of his support group and she was busy doing good. She was in the very presence of his ministry, but she was not actually communing with him or drawing life from him. She was absorbed in her own efforts for God. Martha was absorbed in religious activity but she was not involved in spiritual activity. Martha churches are big on activity and methodology but small on peace and fruitfulness.
‘She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said’ (Luke 10:39). Mary was hungry for God and for the life that flowed from his presence and his words. Mary had a heart for God. As Mary listened to Jesus her spirit was replenished. She was being fortified to live and empowered to act. On the other hand, ‘.. Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! (Luke 10:40).
We are often distracted by the idea that alone and unassisted we have to do God’s work for him. We’ve given up salvation by works in private but we cling to it vigorously in public. I’m saved by grace, we say but the church and it’s work is saved by me! Mary had her priorities right. By spending time with Jesus and becoming filled with his life she became a channel of his life and instrument of his power. Mary churches achieve far more than Martha churches ever do. Mary people and Mary churches are fruitful and effective. The results of their efforts linger long after they have gone. Despite their proximity to Jesus and their expenditure of effort, Martha people and Martha churches do little to advance God’s kingdom and frequently retard its growth. This is because they work in the flesh which causes them to adopt a critical attitude to others. 'Lord, tell Mary..' ‘Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’ (Luke 10:41,42).
Martha was annoyed with Mary but Jesus did not tell Mary to help her. To do so would perpetuate the barrenness that is the bane of Christian workaholism. He said, ‘Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.’ Despite appearances Mary had chosen what was better. Mary was seen as insensitive to pressing need and careless of practicalities by her pragmatic and ever active sister, Martha. So it is with the Martha's of today. They see prayer as ‘just words’ and are thrown back on their own resources. But God is not calling anyone to be Martha’s. He is calling all of us to intimacy with him. He wants us to choose that which is better. ‘Better’ means the practice of individual and corporate prayer on a regular basis. Congregations that seek the Lord in praise or stillness by waiting on him, will be filled with the bread of life. Spiritually contented, filled and equipped by the Spirit of the Lord, they will be places of tranquillity in troubled world. They will also go out in power to win ground for God.
Martha was absorbed in her work. Mary was looking into Jesus face. God calls us to seek his face, to be intimate with him and to cease doing his work with our backs to him. He says, ‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land’ (2Chr. 7:14).
In the church there are many ways of doing things, none of them any better or any worse than doing them some other way. Some start at 10.00AM and others at 7.00PM. Some have unleavened bread at communion and others eat buns. But as in the world, there are things where pluralist attitudes do not apply. Sitting at Jesus feet and looking into His face is always better than religious activism. Churches in which people hunger and thirst for more of God have more of him than those that see him as an add-on to their self centred lives. Churches that believe God always has something more to teach them are not blind to what God is doing in the world. Biblical teaching is better than man centred teaching, prayerfulness better than prayerlessness and intimacy with God better than alienation from him. Heart knowledge is better than head knowledge and being filled with the Spirit is more beneficial than being filled with self sufficiency. Churches filled with love are more enjoyable than those that pay lip service to it and those filled with the living Presence of the Holy Spirit more vibrant than churches that merely know him as a concept. But wait, there’s more..
A focus on Jesus is more life-giving than a focus on doctrine and the practice of the power gifts of the spirit a more credible witness to God’s than the habit of quenching the Spirit. A church in which direction is received through the ministry of prophecy is more on target than a church where the main influence is corporate know-how and humanist assumptions. And a church where people practise the presence of God rather than the presence of themselves builds great faith in God. As Paul said, ‘The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.’
